Alzheimer's Disease/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Moby and Tim are in their kitchen, opening containers of Indian takeout food. Tim removes a sheet of paper from one of the containers. TIM: Huh? Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, My grandmother always forgets who I am. Why? From, Rekha. Hmmm. It's hard to know exactly what's going on without a doctor's input. But it's possible that your grandmother is suffering from dementia. Dementia is a condition that occurs pretty commonly in older people. It's a decline in brain function, usually as the result of a disease or brain damage. Dementia can have drastic effects on a person's memory, attention, problem-solving ability, and speaking skills. An image shows a human brain within the silhouette of a head. Different parts of the brain are highlighted as Tim mentions their functions. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it can be a very frustrating thing to live with. It can also take a pretty big toll on friends and relatives. An image shows an elderly woman surrounded by members of her family. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, there are a number of causes of dementia, but the most common is Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is a progressive deterioration of the brain. That means it gets worse as time goes by. An animation shows the gradual spread of deterioration throughout the brain. TIM: Usually, it starts with short-term memory loss, things like forgetting something you just did. Side by side images show an elderly man setting down his keys, and then forgetting where he put them. TIM: As it gets worse, it can make a person lose their language skills, their ability to recognize things or people, and even to do simple tasks, like tying shoelaces or using utensils. Images illustrate what Tim describes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh. Alzheimer's is named after German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, who was one of the first people to link dementia with tissue damage in the brain. An image shows Alois Alzheimer. TIM: Scientists now know that a person with Alzheimer's disease loses brain cells, which is why they lose so many of their ordinary abilities. Side by side images compare a normal brain to a brain with Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer’s brain looks like it has sections missing from it. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, no. As far as doctors know, it's not a normal part of aging. It's kind of hard to know the exact number, since a lot of people don't get tested. But usually, people don't get symptoms until late adulthood. About five percent of Americans will have Alzheimer's by age 65. After age 85, the figures go way up. Up to 40 percent of people may have the disease at that point. That's about two out of every five people. A graphic shows the percentage of men and women who get Alzheimer's disease at age 65 and at 85, as Tim explains. The percentages are almost exactly the same for men and women. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah. It's kind of a mystery why certain people get it and not others. Most likely, there are a number of causes. For one thing, there seems to be a genetic component, which means that you're more likely to get it if someone in your family has had it in the past. An image first shows an older woman surrounded by her family. Then the family is blacked out. TIM: But the immediate cause is an abnormal buildup of two particular substances in the brain. The first is plaque, sticky clumps of protein that accumulate between brain cells. The other culprit is something called tangles. These form when fibers inside brain cells get all twisted up and results in the death of the cells. Basically, plaque and tangles prevent chemical messages from getting through your brain properly. It's these messages that help us think and remember stuff, so that's why people with Alzheimer's have trouble with their memory. An image shows the clumps of plaque and tangles, or fibers, in a brain. An animation shows how these conditions block messages in the brain. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I know. It kind of stinks. Unfortunately, there are no proven ways to prevent it. But doctors are working on a vaccine, and they do have some suggestions that may help. One is to keep your brain active. If you read a lot, or do mind games like crossword puzzles, you may have a better chance of preventing the disease. An image shows a young adult studying a crossword puzzle in a newspaper. TIM: Staying social may help, too. Interacting with people helps prevent depression, which has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's. An image shows people socializing at a party. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Some studies even suggest eating certain spices to prevent the formation of brain plaques! MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, like turmeric, which is found in a lot of Indian foods. Tim and Moby are seated at the kitchen table. There are several plates in front of them, with different types of Indian food. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Hey, can you pass the chicken vindaloo? MOBY: Beep. TIM: Uh, I don't know. He points at a plate of food. TIM: That one, maybe? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts